State minister for planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki on Sunday said that public projects must ensure accessibility, inclusivity and space for ordinary people, including persons with disabilities.
‘Public projects must ensure accessibility, inclusivity and space for ordinary people, including persons with disabilities,’ he said, adding that cities must be designed to coexist with rain, water and climate realities, instead of treating them as disruptions.
He made the remarks as chief guest at the inauguration of an exhibition titled Dialogues in Coexistence: Shaping Inclusive Public Spaces in the Bengal Delta at the Bengal Shilpalay in Dhaka, said a press release.
Mentioning that the government is moving towards a policy decision to make public space, urban planning and architecture suitable for Bangladesh’s own realities, Zonayed Saki said, ‘Master plans for Dhaka and divisional cities are being prioritised, with similar planning to gradually extend to district and upazila towns.’
Supported through the British Council’s Women of the World Bangladesh Grants Programme, the project is led by architects Saiqa Iqbal Meghna and Suvro Sovon Chowdhury.
The exhibition has been developed with curatorial guidance from Luva Nahid Choudhury, director general of Bengal Foundation, and Wakilur Rahman, artist and founder of Kala Kendra.
The exhibition will run from 10:00am to 8:00pm until July 25.
The interdisciplinary art and architecture exhibition explores how feminist ethics, climate responsiveness and public participation can inform the design of more inclusive civic spaces in the Bengal Delta.
Visitors are expected to encounter installations that foreground local materials, craft traditions, and environmental sensitivity while reimagining the relationship between people, place, and ecology.
Speaking at the programme, James Goldman, acting British high commissioner and development director to Bangladesh, said that the exhibition brought together art, architecture and innovation to explore more inclusive and resilient public spaces in the Bengal Delta.
Stephen Forbes, country director Bangladesh, British Council, said that the exhibition showed how arts and architecture could help people think differently about shared public spaces.
Professor Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, architect, educator and director general of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements, said that the installation opened a dialogue between the monsoon, the delta and public space, creating new relationships between the object, the landscape and the people.
